Point mass
At times, you may not be concerned about the stresses or displacements in certain parts of a model, but you may still be interested in the effect that a particular part or subassembly has on other parts. Under these circumstances, you can simplify your model. A Point Mass represents the effects of a body that is not directly represented within your model geometry. You can specify a Point Mass load either automatically or manually.
Replacing an existing component of your model with a Point Mass load simplifies the simulation task. This technique reduces the element count, file size, and solution time. Using this technique, you need not create a solid body in the Design workspace. Therefore, both the modeling and the simulation tasks are simplified.
Point Mass loads are applicable to the following study types:
 Static stress study |
 Nonlinear static stress study |
 Modal frequencies study |
 Thermal stress study |
 Dynamic event simulation study |
 Quasi-static event simulation study |
- To represent the weight of non-critical model bodies or components, substitute Point Mass (Auto) loads.
- To represent loads associated with items that are not a part of the model, apply Point Mass (Manual) loads. Examples are furniture or equipment resting on the floor of a structure.
Point Mass (Auto)
Point Mass (Auto) takes existing bodies within your solid model and represents them using an equivalent point mass. The center of gravity of the selected bodies is determined automatically based on the volume, shape, and density of the materials. The equivalent point mass is placed at the centroid of the original bodies it represents. The original solid bodies are hidden and no longer participate in the simulation.
Point Mass (Manual)
Point Mass (Manual) adds a user-specified point mass to the model and attaches it to user-specified faces. The mass is not based on existing geometry within the model. Therefore, the centroid is unknown, and you must specify the point in space where the mass is centered.